Method and system for operating application of a touch device with touch-based input interface

ABSTRACT

A method and system is disclosed that allows a user to easily and intuitively operate applications that require contact information, in a touch device, via a tray item associated with the contact information. The method for operating applications includes: displaying a contact tray comprised of a number of tray items based on contact information, on an execution screen; receiving an interaction to use a tray item in the contact tray; configuring an execution screen for an application based on contact information of the tray item; and operating the application based on the configured execution screen.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This applicant claims the benefit of the earlier filing date, pursuantto 35 USC 119, of that provisional patent application entitled “Methodand System for Operating Application of a Touch Device with Touch-BasedInput Interface,” filed in the US Patent Office on Dec. 24, 2009 andafforded Ser. No. 61/284,865, and of that patent application entitled,“Method and System for Operating Application of a Touch Device withTouch-Based Input Interface,” filed in the Korean Patent Office on Sep.20, 2010 and afforded serial number 102010-0092291, the entire contentsof both of which are incorporated by reference, herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to touch systems, and more particularly, to amethod and system that allows for easy access to functions andapplications that require contact information, in a touch device with atouch-based input interface, via a tray item cooperated with the contactinformation.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent years, with the high advance of information communicationtechnology and semiconductor technology, various types of mobile deviceshave been developed that lead to an increase in the number of differentfunctions and uses. Conventional mobile devices have experiencedconvergence of utility where the original mobile device function can becombined with services of other electronic devices. For example,conventional mobile communication terminals have various multimediafunctions, as well as general communication functions such as voicecall, message transmission/reception, etc. Examples of multimediafunctions are a television view function (e.g., mobile broadcasts suchas digital multimedia broadcast (DMB), digital video broadcast (DVB),etc.), music playback function (e.g., MPEG Audio-Layer 3 (MP3)), aphotographing function, an Internet service function, a dictionarybrowsing function, etc.

In addition, the number of mobile devices that are equipped with a touchdevice with a touch screen has increased significantly. The touch devicecan operate as both a display unit for displaying operational states ofa mobile device and an input unit for receiving data, etc. Touch devicesare generally implemented with a full touch screen. Users can use orcontrol touch devices via a touch-based input interface.

Users have been gradually concerned about the designs of the touchdevices and the user interface (UI). It is important to implement a userinterface environment so that users can easily use the functions of thetouch devices. To this end, various attempts are being made to allow foreasier convenience when using touch devices' new functions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention has been made in view of the above problems, and providestechnology to provide additional function for user's convenience totouch devices.

The invention provides a touch device that can display a contact traycontaining contact information-based tray items on an applicationexecution screen, and a method for controlling the touch device.

The invention further provides an implementation of an interfaceenvironment where various applications and function requiring contactinformation can be easily managed via tray items in a contact tray.

The invention further provides an enhancement of the use and convenienceof a touch device by implementing an environment to performapplications/functions cooperating with contact information in a touchdevice.

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention, theinvention provides a method for operating applications of a touchdevice, including: displaying a contact tray comprised of a number oftray items based on contact information, on an execution screen;receiving an interaction to use a tray item in the contact tray;configuring an execution screen for an application based on contactinformation of the tray item; and operating the application based on theconfigured execution screen.

In one aspect, the method may be implemented with programs that canexecute the processes, which are stored in a computer-readable recordingmedia.

In accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the invention, theinvention provides a touch device including a display unit and acontroller. The display unit displays an execution screen for anapplication and a contact tray including contact information-based trayitems on the execution screen. The display unit also receivesinteractions to use the tray items in the contact tray. The controllerconfigures the execution screen for an application based on contactinformation about the tray item, according to the input interaction. Thecontroller also operates the application based on the configuredexecution screen.

In one aspect, the contact tray includes first and second item regions.The first item region contains a tray item, associated with contactinformation corresponding to a user of the touch device, and is a fixedregion where tray items cannot be scrolled. The second item regioncontains a number tray items, associated with contact informationregistered by the user, and is a scroll region where tray items can bescrolled according to an input interaction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the invention will become more apparentfrom the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a touch device accordingto an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 illustrate screens displaying a contact tray,according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates screens when a contact tray is executed in the touchdevice according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates screens when a contact tray is scrolled according toan embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates screens that describe a method for operatingapplications using a contact tray according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 7 to FIG. 12 illustrate screens that describe a method foroperating applications, cooperating with contact information of trayitems according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates screens that illustrate a process of alerting a userof the occurrence of an event and tracking the event via a contact trayaccording to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 14 illustrates a flow chart that describes a method for operatingapplications using tray items cooperated with contact informationaccording to an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 illustrate flow charts that describe processes foroperating applications based on contact information of tray items,according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the invention are described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same referencenumbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or similarparts. Detailed descriptions of well-known functions and structuresincorporated herein may be omitted to avoid obscuring the subject matterof the invention.

The invention provides a method and system for operating applicationsassociated with contact information in a touch device with a touch-basedinput interface. The invention also provides a contact tray containingat least one tray item that is created, based on contact information.The contact tray may appear on all execution screens operated in thetouch device. The invention further provides an optimal user interfacethat allows for easy access to various applications and functions,requiring contact information, via tray items associated with contactinformation.

The following describes the configuration of a touch device, accordingto embodiments of the invention and the methods for controlling thetouch device in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments. It willbe noted that there may be many modifications from the embodiments andsuch modifications are considered to be within the scope of theinvention as presented in appended claims.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a touch device accordingto an embodiment of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the touch device includes a communication module110, a display unit 120, a storage unit 130, and a controller 140.Although it is not shown in FIG. 1, the touch device may also include anaudio processing unit including a microphone and a speaker, a digitalbroadcast module for receiving and reproducing digital broadcasts (e.g.,Digital Multimedia Broadcast (DMB), Digital Video Broadcasts (DVB),etc.), a camera module for taking pictures or photographing movingimages, a short-range communication module (e.g., Bluetooth) forperforming short-range communication, a touch pad for receiving touches;keys allowing for the mechanical key input, etc. Detailed descriptionsregarding these additional components are not referred to in thefollowing description to avoid obscuring the invention claimed.

The communication module 110 refers to a module that can supportservices such as a mobile communication-based service (e.g., cellularcommunication, short-range communication), a Wireless Local Area Network(WLAN) based Internet service (e.g., Wi-Fi service), etc. Thecommunication module 110 may be implemented with a Radio Frequency (RF)module for performing mobile communication or a WLAN module forperforming WLAN-based Internet communication. Although FIG. 1 shows thetouch device including one communication module 110, it should beunderstood that the touch device may include both the RF module and theWLAN module. The touch device can support the mobile communicationservice and the Internet communication service by communicating with theInternet via the RF module.

The display unit 120 displays a home screen of a touch device andscreens when applications of the touch device are executed. Examples ofthe applications are a messaging function, an e-mail function, anInternet function, a multimedia function, a search function, acommunication function, an electronic book function, ataking/photographing of pictures and/or motion pictures function, aplayback of pictures/motion pictures function, a TV playback function(e.g., reproducing mobile broadcasts such as DMB, DVB, etc.), an audioplayback function (e.g., MP3 playback), a widget function, a memofunction, a games function, etc. The display unit 120 may be implementedwith a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), an Organic Light Emitting Diode(OLED), an Active Matrix OLED (AMOLED), or other similar technologies.The display unit 120 can provide a landscape mode or a portrait modeaccording to the posture of the touch device when displaying anexecution screen.

The display unit 120 may include an interface supporting touch-basedinputs, i.e., a touch-based input interface. For example, the displayunit 120 can be installed to a touch screen and allows for the input ofa user's touch-based interaction. In that case, the display unit 120creates an input signal according to a user's input interaction andtransfers the inputted interaction to the controller 140. The displayunit 120 can also display a contact tray containing tray items, formedbased on the contact information, on an execution screen. The displayunit 120 splits and displays the contact tray into three areas, anddisplays effects controlled according to a user's touch-basedinteraction on the contact tray. A detailed description about a contacttray displayed on the display unit 120 and screens that are controlledby a user's interaction using the contact tray are provided below.

The storage unit 130 stores data and programs processed or executed inthe touch device. The storage unit 130 is implemented with volatilestorage media or non-volatile storage, etc. For example, the storageunit 130 can permanently or temporarily store one or more of: anoperating system of the touch device, data and programs related to thecontrol of the display unit 120, data and programs related to the inputcontrol using the display unit 120, data and programs related to theoperation of a contact tray, data and programs related to applicationsand their operations, where the applications are associated with contactinformation corresponding to the tray items of a contact tray. Forexample, the storage unit 130 stores contact information about at leastone contact registered in a phone book menu. In addition, the storageunit 130 can also store data and messages that are transmitted orreceived according to various services. For example, the storage unit130 can store data and messages associated with a Social Network Service(SNS) (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, etc.), a message service (e.g., SMS,MMS, etc.), an e-mail service, a messenger, and other similar type ofservices.

The controller 140 controls the entire operation of the touch device.The controller 140 controls the formation of a contact tray, the displayof the contact tray, and the operations of the contact tray. Forexample, the controller 140 can form a contact tray containing trayitems that are created based on contact information. The controller 140can display a contact tray on all the execution screens operated in thetouch device, according to a user's interaction, or hide the contacttray overlaid on the execution screen, according to a user'sinteraction. The controller 140 can operate on contact information,cooperating with applications requiring the contact information, viatray items contained in a contact tray. A detailed description of thecontroller 140 will be described, later, when the operations of thetouch device and the method for controlling the touch device aredescribed.

The controller 140 also controls the operations related to generalfunctions of the touch device. For example, the controller 140 controlsthe operations of applications that are executed along with acorresponding data displaying operation. In addition, the controller 140receives signals, via various types of input modes, such as atouch-based input interface, and initiates and controls functionsaccording to the input signals. The controller 140 can transmit andreceive data (e.g., messages, etc.) related to an Internet service(e.g., SNS, etc.), via WLAN or mobile communication, tracks and groupsthe transmitted/received data, and can display the grouped data via apop-up format.

The touch device of the invention can be applied to all types of mobiledevices with a touch-based input interface, for example, a bar type, afolder type, a slide type, a swing type, a flip-flop type, etc. Thetouch device according to the invention includes all informationcommunication devices, multimedia devices, and their applications, whichare operated according to communication protocols corresponding to avariety of communication systems. For example, the touch device can beapplied to mobile communication terminals, tablet personal computers,Portable Multimedia Players (PMPs), digital broadcast players, PersonalDigital Assistants (PDAs), audio players (e.g., MP3 players), mobilegame players, net book computers, smart phones, etc. In addition, themethod for providing contact lists and the method for managing contactlists, according to the invention, can be adapted to televisions, LargeFormat Displays (LFDs), Digital Signages (DSs), media poles, laptopcomputers, etc.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 illustrate screens displaying a contact tray, whichare provided by the touch device according to an embodiment of theinvention.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the display unit 120 is divided into a stateinformation area 200 and an execution screen area 300.

The state information area 200 displays information about states of thetouch device. In an embodiment of the invention, the state informationis displayed as information items, such as a still image, a movingimage, a still text, a moving text, etc. The state information area 200can display at least one information item.

In addition, the state information area 200 is also divided into anindicator region 230 and a tray indicator region 250. The indicatorregion 230 and the tray indicator region 250 can each display at leastone information item.

The indicator region 230 displays the state information related to thetouch device, via information items. Examples of the information itemsare an item indicating communication signal strength, an item indicatingmessage reception, an item indicating vibration/ring tone/no-soundinformation, an item indicating a state of Bluetoothactivation/deactivation, an item indicating a state of Wi-Fiactivation/deactivation, an item indicating a battery charging (orremaining) state, an item indicating time information, etc. It should beunderstood that the information items are not limited to the itemslisted above but instead may also include various types of items. Inaddition, the indicator region 230 can display one or more itemsaccording to the use environment of the touch device.

The tray indicator region 250 refers to a region toggling betweenshowing and hiding a contact tray 400. The tray indicator region 250 candisplay an information item alert when an event occurs at a particularcontact (user) corresponding to a tray item contained in the contacttray 400. The information item of the tray indicator region 250 mayappear as combination of an image with a text corresponding to afunction of the event that occurred. For example, when, as an event thatoccurred, data is input from a particular contact via an SNS, the trayindicator region 250 may display an image corresponding to the SNS andapproximate information (e.g., a text) about the input data.

The execution screen area 300 displays screens when applications areexecuted in the touch device. The execution screen area 300 displays alltypes of execution screens supported by the touch device. For example,the execution screens may be one or more of a home screen, applicationsscreens, which are associated with the execution of variousapplications, a list execution screen corresponding to variousapplications, etc. The execution screen area 300 may further display acontact tray 400 on the execution screens listed above. When the contacttray 400 appears on the execution screen area 300, a pop-up window 500corresponding to a selected tray item, described later, may also appearthereon together. The contact tray 400 and the pop-up window 500 (seeFIG. 6) may overlay and appear on an execution screen that is beingdisplayed on the execution screen area 300. In the followingdescription, the configuration of a screen showing the contact tray 400is explained in detail.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the contact tray 400 may be comprised of anumber of tray items. The tray items are mapped to contact informationabout at least one contact that is registered in a phone book, via aphone book menu, etc. Therefore, the tray items contained in the contacttray 400 can be created, respectively, based on contact information. Forexample, each tray item) may be displayed as a combination of an imageaccording to corresponding contact information and user information(e.g., name, nickname, ID, etc.) (see FIG. 3). The tray items, containedin the contact tray 400, can be automatically registered, correspondingto contact information stored in the storage unit 130. Alternatively,the tray items, contained in the contact tray 400, can be registered,corresponding to some of the contact information stored in the storageunit 130, which complies with a user's settings.

The contact tray 400 is comprised of a first item region 430, a seconditem region 450, and a third item region 470. The contact tray 400 canshow tray items, based on contact information, in the first and seconditem regions 430 and 450, or in the first, second and third item regions430, 450 and 470. The first, second and third item regions 430, 450, and470 can be provided, by distinguishing their boundaries to give the useran intuitive indication where the regions start and stop. For example,as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the background (extra space other than trayitems) of the first, second and third item regions 430, 450, and 470 maybe displayed in different colors. Alternatively, the tray item in thefirst item region 430 can be displayed to distinguish other tray items,for example, by highlighting, with different display sizes, or the like.

The contact tray 400 displays a tray item, associated with contactinformation corresponding to a touch device user, via the first itemregion 430, and a number of tray items, associated with contactinformation registered by the touch device user, via the second itemregion 450. The second item region 450 supports a function for scrollingthe tray items. In an embodiment of the invention, the first and thirditem regions 430 and 470 serve as a fixed region that does not allow forthe scroll control according to a user's interaction. However, thesecond item region 450 serves as a scroll region that allows for thescroll control according to a user's interaction. The scroll functionwill be described in detail later. The third item region 470 shows anitem for editing tray items of the contact tray 400. For example, itemregion 470 may allow for editing by addition and/or deletion of a trayitem, etc. In another embodiment of the invention, the contact tray 400may be implemented without the third item region 470.

The contact tray 400 may provide contact information-based tray items,as shown in FIG. 2. Alternatively, the contact tray 400 may provide acombination of a contact information-based tray item, obtained fromcorresponding to contact information, and information about an eventthat has recently occurred, as shown in FIG. 3. When an event occursfrom a particular contact, the method for providing contact tray, shownin FIG. 3, updates information about the event and displays the updatedinformation. This method of FIG. 3 may be set according to a user'ssettings.

In the following description, the method for operating the contact tray400 is described in detail referring to FIG. 4 to FIG. 6.

FIG. 4 illustrates screen views that describe an operation to display acontact tray 400 on an execution screen according to an embodiment ofthe invention. FIG. 5 illustrates screen views that describe anoperation to scroll tray items in the contact tray 400 appeared on theexecution screen of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 illustrates screen views thatdescribe an operation to provide a pop-up window corresponding to oneselected from among the tray items in the contact tray 400 shown in FIG.4.

Referring to diagram 401 shown in FIG. 4, the display unit 120 isdivided into a state information area 200 and an execution screen area300. The state information area 200 is comprised of a touch deviceindicator region 230 and a tray indicator region 250. In this exemplarycase, the execution screen area 300 shows an exemplary home screen. Whenthe touch device is operated in a state showing the screen as shown indiagram 401, the user can input a user's touch-based interaction in thetray indicator region 250. For example, the user can input a callinteraction in the tray indicator region 250 in order to call thecontact tray 400 (i.e., to display the contact tray 400 on the executionscreen). In an embodiment of the invention, examples of the callinteraction are a tap interaction (i.e., tapping the tray indicatorregion 250), a sweep interaction (i.e., touching the tray indicatorregion 250 and then moving the touched object in a direction), and aflick interaction (i.e., touching the tray indicator region 250 andconcurrently moving the touched object and untouching the indicatorregion 250). The user can input one of a tap, a sweep, and a flickinteraction in the touch device.

When the controller 140 senses the call interaction input to the trayindicator region 250, the device displays the contact tray 400 in aknown or set area on the execution screen. In the exemplary case shownin diagram 403, the contact tray 400 is displayed on the right side.Although the embodiment is implemented in such a way that the contacttray 400 is arranged at the right side of the execution screen of thedisplay unit 120 as shown in diagram 403, it should be understood thatthe invention is not limited to the embodiment. For example, theembodiment may be modified in such a way that the contact tray 400 isarranged in the left, top or bottom side of the execution screen on thedisplay unit 120. The contact tray 400 may be arranged at the bottomside adjacent to the state information area 200 on the execution screenof the display unit 120. The contact tray 400, arranged in a particularside, can be moved to any of the other sides, according to a user'sinteraction. The arrangement of the contact tray 400 may be set by auser's settings.

In addition, the contact tray 400 may be slid from the right to leftsides, from the top to bottom sides, or from the bottom to top sides,and then displayed at the slid-to position.

The user can input a tap interaction in the tray indicator region 250when the touch device operates in a state as shown in diagram 403. Inthat case, the controller 140 senses the tap interaction in the trayindicator region 250 while the contact tray 400 is appearing on theexecution screen 300 as shown in diagram 403, and removes the contacttray 400 from the execution screen 300 as shown in diagram 401. Theremoval of the contact tray 400 can also be achieved by the reverseoperation, i.e., an operation for displaying the contact tray 400.

Although it is not shown in FIG. 4, a user's interaction for calling thecontact tray 400 is also achieved by) a mechanical function key, anadditional touchpad, a soft key implemented on the display unit 120(e.g., an indicator shaped as an icon or a triangle), or the like, whichare not shown, but are well known in the art. In that case, the stateinformation area 200 may be comprised of only the touch device indicatorregion 230 without the tray indicator region 250.

Referring to FIG. 5, the user inputs a touch-based interaction in thedisplay unit when the contact tray 400 appears as shown in diagram 403of FIG. 4, according to a user's interaction, and scrolls the tray itemsin the contact tray 400. For example, the user can input a sweepinteraction or flick interaction in the contact tray 400 from one sideto another (e.g., moving their finger from the bottom to the top or viceversa), as shown in diagram 501 of FIG. 5.

The controller 140 senses the sweep interaction in the contact tray 400shown in diagram 501. In that case, the controller 140 scrolls the trayitems in the contact tray 400 according to the direction of the sweepinteraction and then displays the scrolled tray items in the contacttray 400 as shown in diagram 503. The controller 140 can control thescrolling operation for the tray items, according to the input magnitudeof the sweep interaction (e.g., input strength, input length, inputdirection, etc.), and can control the screen display corresponding tothe scrolling operation.

When the controller 140 scrolls the tray items in the contact tray 400as shown in diagrams 501 and 503, it can display the tray items,contained in the first and third item regions 430 and 470, on the fixedpositions respectively, and may only scroll the tray items contained inthe second item region 450. That is, a number of tray items contained inthe second item region 450 can be scrolled in the vertical directionaccording to a user's interaction. Thus, while the tray items are beingscrolled, the tray items contained in the first and third item regions430 and 470 are not scrolled. In one aspect of the invention, the scrollmay remove a tray icon from the list and replace it with a new trayicon. In another aspect, a tray icon may be moved from one end of thelist to another end of the list (as if on a carrousel).

As shown, the contact tray 400 is comprised of the first and second itemregions 430 and 450. The first item region 430 provides a tray itemassociated with contact information about the user of the touch device.The first item region 430 is a fixed region that does not supportscrolling. The second item region 450 provides a number of tray itemsassociated with contact information registered by the user. The seconditem region 450 is a scrolling region that allows for scrolling.

Referring to FIG. 6, the user inputs a touch-based interaction in thedisplay unit when the contact tray 400 appears as shown in diagram 403of FIG. 4, or diagram 501 or 503 of FIG. 5, according to a user'sinteraction, and selects a particular tray item in the contact tray 400.For example, the user can input a tap interaction to select one of anumber of tray items in the contact tray 400 as shown in diagram 601 or603 of FIG. 6.

The controller 140 senses the tap interaction for a tray item in thecontact tray 400 and then displays contact information, corresponding tothe tray item receiving the tap interaction, via a pop-up window 500, asshown in diagram 601 or 603. For example, when the controller 140 sensesa tap interaction for a tray item from the contact tray 400, thecontroller 140 can identify the tray item receiving the tap interaction.After that, the controller 140 can track contact informationcorresponding to the identified tray item and then display the trackedcontact information via pop-up window 500.

The pop-up window 500 can be displayed as being adjacent to the trayitem receiving the tap interaction, as shown in diagrams 601 and 603.The pop-up window 500 can also be arranged and displayed on a highestposition of the screen and adjacent to the contact tray 400, as shown indiagram 601. Alternatively, the pop-up window 500 can be arranged anddisplayed at the center of the execution screen, irrespective of theposition of the tray item receiving the tap interaction (diagram 603).The mode of displaying the pop-up window 500 may be set by a user'ssettings. In addition, the pop-up window 500 may be moved to anotherlocation after its initial display.

In an embodiment of the invention, examples of the contact informationare a user image set for a particular contact, a user's name, users'phone numbers (e.g., mobile phone numbers, home phone numbers, officephone numbers, etc.), email addresses, link information according to theuse of Internet services (e.g., information about the other users' IDsshaped via an SNS, such as a message, Facebook, Twitter, etc., which areassociated with a particular contact based on an Internet service; theirhome addresses; message information; memo information; etc.), etc. Inaddition, the contact information is divided into representativeinformation and additional information. The representative informationrefers to information from among the contact information that can be setto allow for intuitively recognizing a contact. Examples of therepresentative information are a user's image, a user name, etc. Theadditional information refers to information from among the contactinformation that can be additionally set for a contact. The additionalinformation contains information excluding the representativeinformation.

In the first item region 430, a tray item can be located that isassociated with contact information about the user of the touch device.In the second item region 450, a number of tray items can be locatedthat are associated with contact information about other users,registered by the touch device user.

The pop-up window 500 can show different contact information accordingto the types of item regions or the types of tray items receiving a tapinteraction. For example, when a user inputs a tap interaction to a trayitem in the first item region 430, the pop-up window 500 can showrepresentative information corresponding to the tray item, and linkinformation from among the additional information, as shown in diagram601. That is, when a tray item corresponding to a touch device user isselected, the touch device tracks data (e.g., messages) according to theuse of services, such as an SNS, messenger, etc., between the user andother users, and displays it together with representative information.The touch device can intuitively display the user's history information.

When the user inputs a tap interaction to a tray item in the second itemregion 450, the pop-up window 500 can show representative informationcorresponding to the tray item (another user), and part or all of theadditional information, as shown in diagram 603. The user can selectparticular information from the additional information shown in thepop-up window 500 in order to execute a function corresponding to theselected information. For example, the user can input a tap interactionto a particular phone number from the additional information shown inthe pop-up window 500, and thus allow the device to make a call to aselected phone number. The user can also input a tap interaction to anemail address from the additional information shown in the pop-up window500 and thus enable the device to make an email to a contact with theemail address. The user can further input a tap interaction to a networkhome address from the additional information shown in the pop-up window500, and thus enable the device to execute a web function and display ahomepage corresponding to the network home address.

Although it is not shown in FIG. 6, the user can also input a tapinteraction to a tray item in the third item region 470. When a tapinteraction is input to a tray item in the third item region 470, thepop-up window 500 provides an optional menu for editing (altering,deleting, adding, etc.) the contact tray 400. In addition, when a tapinteraction is input, the touch device can switch the current screen toa screen for configuring the contact tray 400, for example, a screen forexecuting a phonebook list, etc.

For example, the contact tray 400 may be edited in such a way that aparticular contact is selected on a phonebook list execution screen andmoved to the contact tray 400 by inputting a movement interaction (e.g.,a tap, hold and move operation), thereby adding a tray itemcorresponding to contact information about the selected contact to thecontact tray 400. When the contact tray 400 already has a tray item withinformation about a contact that the user requests be added, the devicecan provide an indication or alarm that the contact is already containedin the contact tray 400. In which case, the user may be advised toperform an update operation that updates the contact information.

FIG. 7 illustrates screens that describe a first embodiment of a methodfor operating applications, cooperating with contact information of trayitems, in the touch device according to the invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the display unit 120 displays on execution screenarea 300, a screen when an application is executed. In this exemplarycase, an execution screen for an email list is shown in diagram 701. Theemail list may be provided to one region or at least two split regions(e.g., a list view region 710 showing a list of contacts and aninformation view region 730 showing information about a selectedcontact). The contact tray 400 is displayed at one side of the executionscreen.

The user selects a particular contact (content) shown in the list viewregion 710 or particular information (content) shown in the informationview region 730, when the screen shown in diagram 701 is presented, andinputs a user interaction to move the content to a tray item of thecontact tray 400 as shown in diagram 703. For example, the user canselect a particular content (e.g., an image item 750, diagram 703) fromamong information shown in the information view region 730, when thescreen shown in diagram 701 is presented, and can input an interaction(e.g., a drag interaction or a sweep interaction) to move theinformation to the position of the tray item 750 from among the trayitems in the contact tray 400 shown in diagram 703.

The controller 140 senses the interaction that is input on the executionscreen and moves to the contact tray 400 as shown in diagram 701, andprovides a visual effect to a tray item (e.g., enlarging the tray item),so that it can be exhibited at a position where the content issuperimposed in the contact tray 400, according to the movement of thecontent, thereby allowing the user to intuitively recognize tray item(or the information associated with the tray item), as shown in diagram703. The touch device can apply a visual effect to a corresponding trayitem in the contact tray 400 according to the movement of theinteraction and display it with the visual effect. For example, when theinteraction moves from the tray item 750 in the top direction, the trayitem 750 returns the form with a visual effect applied to its originalform and another tray item (above the tray item 750), designatedaccording to the movement of the interaction, is displayed with thevisual effect (not shown).

The user moves their interaction to move particular content to aposition of a particular tray item (e.g., the tray item 750) in thecontact tray 400 and then releases the interaction. For example, theuser selects a particular content on an execution screen and drags it toa corresponding tray item in the contact tray 400, which is called adrag interaction, and then drops it, which is called a drop interaction.This interaction is called a drag & drop interaction.

The controller 140 senses the interaction's release when the diagram 703is presented and displays a list of applications that can be executedcorresponding with the contact information via a pop-up window 700 asshown in diagram 705. For example, the pop-up window 700 shows a list ofapplications, such as <Message>, <Email>, <Facebook>, <Twitter>, etc.,as shown in diagram 705. After that, the user can select one of theapplications from the pop-up window 700. The controller 140 executes theselected application and displays the executing screen (not shown)corresponding to the selected application. When the controller 140senses an event on a tray item while the execution screen is beingdisplayed, the controller extracts contact information regarding thetray item and configures the execution screen associated with theapplication, based on the extracted contact information. The controller140 automatically inputs content, associated with the tray item (e.g.,an image item 750), in the execution screen and then displays it. Adetailed description about this screen will be provided with regard toFIGS. 14-16.

In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 7 as described above, whenapplications requiring contact information are operated via a selectedtray item, the touch device can show a list of executable applicationsvia the pop-up window 700. For example, when the user drags and dropscorresponding content to a position of a tray item in the contact tray400 while a particular application is being executed, the touch deviceshows a list of applications that can be executed by associating thecontent with contact information about the tray item. After that, thetouch device can automatically configure a screen using the content andthe content information, according to an item selected from theapplications in the list.

Although the first embodiment is described in such a way that theapplications that can be executed by associating the content in theexecution screen with contact information about the tray item arepreviously defined, it would be recognized that the operation describedcan be modified in such a way that a corresponding application can bedirectly executed according to the type of currently executedapplication. These embodiments are described with regard to FIGS. 8 to10.

FIG. 8 illustrates screens that illustrate a second embodiment of amethod for operating applications cooperating with contact informationof tray items in the touch device according to the invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the display unit 120 displays a screencorresponding to an application that is executed. For example, as shownin diagram 801 an execution screen for a contact list may be displayedon execution screen area 300. The contact list may be provided to oneregion or at least two split regions (e.g., a list view region 810showing a list of contacts and an information view region showninformation about a selected contact). The contact tray 400 is displayedat one side of the execution screen.

The user selects a particular content (e.g., contact 810 or ‘Han Paul’)in an execution screen when the touch device operates as shown indiagram 801, and inputs a user interaction to move the content to a trayitem 850 of the contact tray 400 as shown in diagram 803. For example,the user can select the contact 810 (i.e., ‘Han Paul’) from the list ofcontacts shown in the execution screen and can drag and drop theselected contact to the tray item 850. As shown in diagram 803, as theinteraction is moved from the location of the content 810 to the contacttray 400 (i.e., drag/drop interaction), an event occurs at thecorresponding tray item 850 and the tray item 850 is thus displayed witha visual effect (e.g., enlargement).

When the controller 140 senses the illustrated interaction moves to thecontact tray 400, the controller 140 executes a predefined application(e.g., an email application) and displays the execution screen as shownin diagram 805. For example, when a predefined application is an emailapplication, the controller 140 can display a corresponding executionscreen showing a variety of input fields required to write an email, asshown in diagram 805. The controller 140 can configure the executionscreen, based on the tray item 850, where an event occurred, and thecontent 810, and can display the configured execution screen. Forexample, the controller 140 extracts contact information correspondingto the tray item 850 and configures a recipient information field 860.Likewise, the controller 140 extracts contact information correspondingto the content 810 and configures a subject field 870 and a body field880.

When the controller 140 senses an event has occurred in the tray item850 as shown in diagram 805, the controller 140 can identify a type ofpredefined application. For example, the user can select the contact 810(i.e., ‘Han Paul’) from the list of contacts shown in the executionscreen and can drag and drop the selected contact to the tray item 850.In that case, the controller 140 can extract contact informationcorresponding to the tray item 850 according to the application (e.g.,an email application). The controller 140 can extract the contactinformation, based on the contact that the user previously registered inthe storage unit 130 (e.g., a phonebook), matching a corresponding trayitem. The controller 140 can extract an email address (e.g.,‘miranda@gmail.com’) from the contact information registered in the traytem 850, according to the email application. The controller 140 canconfigure the execution screen by inputting the extracted email address(e.g., ‘miranda@gmail.com’) to the recipient information field 860. Thatis, the controller 140 can automatically designate a recipient based onthe contact information of the tray item 850.

The controller 140 can configure an execution screen with the content810 or information (e.g., contact information) corresponding to thecontent 810, according to the type of selected content 810 or the typeof application that is executed. The controller 140 can extractinformation about a contact registered in the selected content 810 whenthe content 810 is a contact and an executed application is an emailapplication. The controller 140 can configure an execution screen byinputting the extracted contact information into the body field 880. Inaddition, when the contact information about a particular contact issent to a recipient corresponding to a tray item as shown in FIG. 8, thecontroller 140 can create ‘Contact info of Han Paul’ and automaticallyinput it to the subject field 870.

FIG. 9 illustrates screens that describe a third embodiment of a methodfor operating applications cooperating with contact information of trayitems in the touch device according to the invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, the display unit 120 displays a screen when anapplication is executed. For example, diagram 901 illustrates anexecution screen for a photograph list displayed on execution screenarea 300. The photograph list may be provided as a block type bythumbnails of stored photographs or as a list type by photographs andtext information describing the photographs, as shown in FIG. 9. Thecontact tray 400 may be displayed at one side of the execution screen.

The user selects a particular content (e.g., a particular photograph910) among the content presented on the execution screen when theexecution screen is presented as shown in diagram 901, and inputs a userinteraction to move the content to a tray item 950 of the contact tray400 as shown in diagram 903. For example, the user can select thephotograph 910 from the list of photographs shown in the executionscreen, and can drag and drop it to the tray item 950. As shown indiagram 903, as a drag and drop interaction is moved to the contact tray400 of the content 910, an event occurs at a corresponding tray item 950and the tray item 950 is thus displayed with a visual effect (e.g.,enlargement).

When the controller 140 senses the interaction (for example, the usercan select the photograph 910 from the list of photographs shown in theexecution screen, and can drag and drop it to the tray item 950) that isinput to the execution screen, the controller 140 executes a predefinedapplication (e.g., an MMS application) and displays the execution screenas shown in diagram 905. For example, when a predefined application isan MMS application, the controller 140 can display an execution screenshowing a variety of input fields required to write an MMS, as shown indiagram 905. The controller 140 can configure an execution screen, basedon the tray item 950, where an event occurred, and the contact 910, andcan display the configured execution screen. For example, the controller140 extracts contact information corresponding to the tray item 950 andconfigures a recipient information field 960. The controller 140 alsoconfigures a body field (or an attachment field) 980 by the content 910.

When the controller 140 senses an event has occurred (for example, theuser can select the photograph 910 from the list of photographs shown inthe execution screen, and can drag and drop it to the tray item 950.) inthe tray item 950 as shown in diagram 905, the controller 140 canidentify a type of predefined application. In that case, the controller140 can extract contact information corresponding to the tray item 950according to the application (e.g., an MMS application). The controller140 can extract a mobile phone number (e.g., 010-1234-5678) from thecontact information that is registered in the tray item 950, accordingto the MMS application. The controller 140 can configure an executionscreen by inputting the extracted mobile phone number (e.g.,010-1234-5678) to the recipient information field 960. That is, thecontroller 140 can automatically designate a recipient based on thecontact information of the tray item 950.

The controller 140 can configure an execution screen with the content910 or information corresponding to the content 910, according to thetype of selected content 910 or the type of application that isexecuted. When the selected content 910 is a photograph and the executedapplication is an MMS application, the controller 140 can configure anexecution screen by inputting the photograph of the content 910 into thebody field 980. The controller 140 can additionally input the photographand additional information, for example, text information, in the bodyfield 980, as shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 10 illustrates screens that describe a fourth embodiment of amethod for operating applications cooperating with contact informationof tray items in the touch device according to the invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, the display unit 120 displays a screen when anapplication is executed. For example, diagram 1001 illustrates anexecution screen for a reception email on execution screen area 300. Thecontact tray 400 is displayed at one side of the execution screen.

The user can select a particular content (e.g., a text 1010) in anexecution screen when the touch device operates as shown in diagram1001. In an embodiment of the invention, the user selects a text (e.g.,010-1234-5678) as part of the content, as shown in FIG. 10. For example,the user can input a drag or sweep interaction to designate acorresponding text (e.g., 010-1234-5678), as the content, in the bodyfield 1080 on the reception email execution screen, as shown in diagram1001.

The user designates the text (e.g., 010-1234-5678) as a block on asshown in diagram 1001 and selects the text block as shown in diagram1003. The user may then input an interaction to move the selected textblock to a tray item 1050 of the contact tray 400 as shown in diagram1005. For example, the user can select the designated text (text block)1010 from the content presented on the execution screen 300, and candrag and drop it to the tray item 1050. As shown in diagram 1005, as aninteraction is moved to the contact tray 400 of the content 1010, anevent occurs at a corresponding tray item 1050 and the tray item 1050 isthus displayed with a visual effect.

When the controller 140 senses the interaction input to the executionscreen moves to the contact tray 400, the controller 140 executes apredefined application and displays a list of executable applications ona pop-up window form which an application may be selected or may be aspecific application, as described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 or.

For example, when the predefined application is an email application,the controller 140 can execute the email application and configure acorresponding execution screen, as described in the section referring todiagram 805 of FIG. 8. Likewise, when the predefined application is anMMS application, the controller 140 can execute the MMS application andconfigure a corresponding execution screen, as described in sectionreferring to diagram 905 of FIG. 9. In addition, the controller 140 canalso execute a variety of predefined applications, such as Facebook,Twitter, etc., and configure corresponding execution screens. However,when a pre-defined application is not defined, the controller 140 candisplay a list of executable applications via a pop-up window, asdescribed in the section referring to diagram 705 of FIG. 7, so that theuser can select an application from among the applications in the list.After that, the controller 140 executes the user's selected applicationand configures a corresponding execution screen.

In the foregoing description referring to FIGS. 7 to 10, the methods foroperating applications have been explained where a user interaction thatmoves the content to a position of a tray item in the contact tray 400.The following description provides the methods for operationapplications where a user interaction moves a tray item from the contacttray 400 to an execution screen where the applications are executed.

FIG. 11 illustrates screens that describe a fifth embodiment of a methodfor operating applications, cooperating with contact information of trayitems, in the touch device according to the invention.

Referring to FIG. 11, the display unit 120 displays a screen when anapplication is executed, for example, an execution screen for an emailwriting, on an execution screen area 300 as shown in diagram 1101. In anembodiment of the invention, the email writing execution screen shown indiagram 1101 includes a recipient information field 1110, a referenceinformation field 1120, a subject field 1130, an attachment field 1140,and a body field 1150. It is assumed that the fields 1110, 1120, 1130and 1140 of the email writing execution screen are empty in the initialstate, as shown in diagram 1101. The contact tray 400 is displayed atone side of the execution screen.

The user can configure an execution screen with contact informationcorresponding to a tray item of the contact tray 400 when the executionscreen is presented as shown in diagram 1101. For example, the userselects a first tray item 1160 from the contact tray 400 as shown indiagram 1101, and inputs a user interaction to move (drag/dropinteraction) the selected tray item to the recipient information field1110 as shown in diagram 1103. The user can select the first tray item1160 from the contact tray 400, and can drag and drop the selected itemto the recipient information field 1110 in the email writing executionscreen.

The controller 140 senses the interaction that selects a particular itemfrom the contact tray 400 and moves selected item to the executionscreen, it can configure an execution screen, based on contactinformation corresponding to the tray item as shown in diagrams 1103 and1105.

When the controller 140 senses an event (for example, the user canselect the first tray item 1160 from the contact tray 400, and can dragand drop the selected item to the recipient information field 1110 inthe email writing execution screen) that occurred in the tray item 1160as shown in diagram 1103, the controller 140 can extract contactinformation corresponding to the tray item 1160. In addition, thecontroller 140 can identify a type of area (e.g., types of input fieldscorresponding to the executed applications) in the execution screen, towhich the tray item 1160 is moved, and can then extract contactinformation corresponding to the identified type of area. For example,when the tray item 1160 is the recipient information field 1110 as shownin FIG. 11, the controller 140 can extract an email address (e.g.,‘miranda@gmail.com’) from the contact information, corresponding to thetray item 1160. After that, the controller 140 inputs the extractedemail address (e.g., ‘miranda@gmail.com’) to the recipient informationfield 1110, thereby configuring an execution screen. That is, thecontroller 140 can automatically designate a recipient based on thecontact information of the tray item 1160. In addition, when theexecuted application is an MMS application and the type of area to whichthe tray item 1160 is moved is a recipient information field, thecontroller 140 extracts a mobile phone number from the contactinformation of the tray item and then input it to the recipientinformation field.

The user can input information about a number of recipients to broadcastan email to each of them. For example, the user can configure therecipient information field 1110 or the reference information field 1120by moving other tray items to the recipient information field.

The user can configure an execution screen using a first tray item 1170and a third tray item 1180 as shown in diagram 1105. For example, theuser drags and drops the second tray item 1170 to the attachment field1140, thereby attaching a user image from the contact information aboutthe second tray item 1170. In that case, the controller 140 identifies atype of area to which the second tray item 1170 is moved, extracts auser image from the contact information about the second tray item 1170,corresponding to the identified type of area, and then attaches theextracted user image to the attachment field 1140. Likewise, the usermay drag and drop the third tray item 1180 to the body field 1150,thereby inputting the contact information about the third tray item1180. In that case, the controller 140 identifies a type of area towhich the third tray item 1180 is moved, extracts the contactinformation about the third tray item 1180, corresponding to theidentified type of area, and then inputs the extracted contactinformation to the body field 1150.

While the applications are being operated according to the fifthembodiment shown in FIG. 11, considering a user's convenience and theoperation intuitiveness using the tray items, when a tray item is movedto an area where contact information cannot be used, the controller 140can provide a function for providing an alarm or an indication that itis not possible for the tray item to move. This function is described,in detail, with reference to FIG. 12.

FIG. 12 illustrates screens that describe a sixth embodiment of a methodfor operating applications cooperating with contact information of trayitems in the touch device according to the invention.

Referring to FIG. 12, the display unit 120 displays a screen when anapplication is executed. In this exemplary case, an execution screen foran email writing application is presented on the execution screen area300 as described in the section referring to FIG. 11. The email writingexecution screen includes a subject field 1210, a body field 1230, etc.It is assumed that the subject field 1210 is a region to which a trayitem cannot be moved, i.e., a region that cannot be operated based oncontact information. The contact tray 400 is displayed at one side ofthe execution screen.

The user can input a user interaction that moves a tray item 1250 fromthe contact tray 400 to the execution screen shown in FIG. 12. Forexample, the user selects the tray item 1250 in the contact tray 400 andthen drags and sweeps it to the email writing execution screen.

When the controller 140 senses the interaction that selects the trayitem 1250 and moves the tray item 1250 from the contact tray 400 to theexecution screen, the controller 140 identifies a type of area where thetray item 1250 is located to determined types of input fields to beprovided according to the application. In addition, the controller 140determines whether the identified area can receive a contactinformation-based input. After that, the controller 140 applies a visualeffect to a floating item corresponding to the tray item 1250 anddisplays the visually effected item, according to the determination asto whether the identified area can receive a contact information-basedinput.

For example, it is assumed that the email writing execution screen isconfigured such that the subject field 1210 cannot receive a contactinformation-based input and the body field 1230 can receive a contactinformation-based input. When the tray item 1250 is moved from thecontact tray 400 to the execution screen according to a userinteraction, its moved path can be visually shown via a floating item1260 or 1270.

In an embodiment of the invention, when the tray item is moved, it canbe shown as a floating item 1260 or 1270 according to the type of areawhere it is located, in order to provide intuitiveness to the user. Forexample, when the tray item 1250 is moved and located above an areacorresponding to the subject field 1210 according to a user interaction,a floating item 1260 may appear that indicates that the contactinformation-based input of the tray item 1250 cannot be input to thesubject field 1210. However, when the tray item 1250 is moved andlocated above an area corresponding to the body field 1230 according toa user interaction, a floating item 1270 may appear that indicates thatthe contact information-based input of the tray item 1250 can be inputto the body field 1230. The floating items 1260 and 1270 can appearadaptively based on which type of area to which the user interactionmoves the item.

When the user releases, or ends, their interaction from an area wherethe tray item 1250 is located and simultaneously the floating item 1260corresponding thereto appears, the area does not receive the contactinformation about the tray item 1250. On the contrary, when the userreleases their interaction from an area where the tray item 1250 islocated and simultaneously the floating item 1270 corresponding theretoappears, the area receives and displays the extracted contactinformation about the tray item 1250.

FIG. 13 illustrates screens that describe a process of alerting the userof the occurrence of an event and tracking it via a contact tray, in atouch device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 13, diagrams 1301 and 1303 respectively show statesbefore and after the contact tray 400 is activated. It is assumed thatan event (e.g., communication events, such as, email reception, messagereception, data registration according to SNS, etc.) occurs from aparticular contact (user) corresponding to one of the tray items in thecontact tray 400, in a state before the contact tray 400 is activated asshown in diagram 1301.

When a communication event occurs from a particular contact, thecontroller 140 can generate an alarm indicating that the communicationevent occurred via a tray indicator region 250 as shown in diagram 1301.In that case, the tray indicator region 250 can be flickered, altered incolor, highlighted, etc. to indicate an alarm in a visual mode.Alternatively, alarming the occurrence of a communication event via thetray indicator region 250 may also be indicated by combining with atleast one of a vibration and an audio sound.

The user can input a preset user interaction to the tray indicatorregion 250 in a state where an alarm according to a communication eventoccurs, as shown in diagram 1301. For example, the user can input aninteraction for calling the contact tray 400 in the tray indicatorregion 250. In an embodiment of the invention, the call interactionincludes an interaction for tapping the tray indicator region 250, sweepinteraction and flick interaction, which touch the tray indicator region250 and moves in the bottom direction, etc. The user can previously setone of the interactions listed above to a call interaction and input itwhen an alarm occurs.

The user senses a call interaction input to the tray indicator region250 when the touch device operates as shown in diagram 1301, anddisplays the contact tray 400 at one side of the execution screen asshown in diagram 1303. The controller 140 can track a tray itemcorresponding to the occurrence of the communication event. For example,the controller 140 can track a tray item, based on contact information,according to a communication event.

The controller 140 applies a visual effect to the tracked tray item anddisplays the visually effected tray item in order to distinguish it fromthe other tray items. For example, the controller 140 can apply a visualeffect to a tray item corresponding to a communication event, such asflickering, altering color, highlighting, etc., so that the tray itemcan be displayed, distinguishing from the other tray items.

Meanwhile, the contact tray 400 appearing on a current screen may notshow the tracked tray item according to the communication event. In thatcase, a scroll operation needs to show the tracked tray item. In anembodiment of the invention, considering a user's convenience andintuitiveness for tracking a tray item corresponding to a communicationevent, when a scrolling operation needs to show the tracked tray itemaccording to the occurrence of a communication event, it can beautomatically position of the tracked tray item. When the tracked trayitem appears according to the scrolling operation, the tray item can bedisplayed with a visual effect in the contact tray 400.

Although it is not shown in the drawings, the contact tray 400 appearsoverlaid on all the execution screens, i.e., above the uppermost layer.However, an execution screen may appear lower than an execution screenthat has a priority. For example, it is assumed that a first executionscreen (e.g., an email writing execution screen) appears and then thecontact tray 400 appears thereon. In that case, when the user calls avirtual keypad to input text in the email writing execution screen, asecond execution screen according to the virtual keypad (i.e., thekeypad execution screen) may appear above the contact tray 400. In thatcase, the layers of the display unit 120 are arranged as the firstexecution screen in the lowest position, the contact tray 400 in themiddle position and the second execution screen in the highest position.This is to allow the user to easily input text to the touch device.Alternatively, when the display unit 120 is configured in such a waythat the contact tray 400 does not always appear at the highest layer,an execution screen such as a virtual keypad execution screen may needto set its appearance area not to invade the contact tray 400. To thisend, the width of the virtual keypad can be adjacent to the boundary ofthe contact tray 400.

FIG. 14 illustrates a flow chart that describes a method operable in thecontroller 140 for operating applications using tray items with contactinformation in a touch device according to an embodiment of theinvention.

Referring to FIG. 14, the controller 140 operates a particular mode andaccordingly displays an execution screen (1401). For example, thecontroller 140 may display an idle screen according to the operation inan idle mode and an execution screen according to the execution of anapplication on the display unit 120.

The controller 140 senses an interaction for calling a contact tray 400in an execution screen (1403). For example, when the user inputs a tapinteraction in the tray indicator region 250, the display unit 120creates an input signal for the tap interaction and transfers it to thecontroller 140. The controller 140 detects the calling of the contacttray 400 according to the received input signal.

When the call interaction is input to the tray indicator region 250, thecontroller 140 displays the contact tray 400 at one side on theexecution screen (1405). The controller 140 checks whether acommunication event had occurred when providing the contact tray 400. Asdescribed in the section referring to FIG. 13, the controller 140applies an effect to a corresponding tray item and provides it to thecontact tray 400. Alternatively, the controller 140 automaticallyperforms a scrolling operation to show a corresponding tray item andapplies an effect to the tray item.

After that, the controller 140 senses an interaction input to thecontact tray 400 or the execution screen (1407). For example, asdescribed in the sections referring to FIGS. 5 to 12, the controller 140can sense an interaction for scrolling a tray item in the contact tray400, an interaction moving from the execution screen to the contact tray400, or an interaction moving from the contact tray 400 to the executionscreen.

The controller 140 senses the input interaction and identifies a type ofinput interaction. That is, the controller 140 analyzes whether theinput interaction is to operate an application that associates a trayitem of the contact tray 400 with content of the execution screen. Whenthe input interaction is to operate an application, the controller 140determines whether the input interaction moves from the execution screento a particular tray item in the contact tray 400 (1409). When thecontroller 140 ascertains that the input interaction does not move fromthe execution screen to a particular tray item in the contact tray 400at step 1409, it further determines whether the input interaction movesfrom a particular tray item in the contact tray 400 to the executionscreen (1411).

When the controller ascertains that the input interaction does not movefrom a particular tray item in the contact tray 400 to the executionscreen at step 1411, i.e., the input interaction is not to execute anapplication, it controls a corresponding function (1413). For example,as described in the section referring to FIG. 5, the controller 140scrolls the tray items in the second item region 450 of the contact tray400, according to the input interaction. In addition, as described inthe section referring to FIG. 6, the controller 140 displays a pop-upwindow 500 for a selected tray item in the contact tray 400, accordingto the input interaction.

However, when the controller 140 ascertains that the input interactionmoves from the execution screen to a particular tray item in the contacttray 400 at step 1409, it operates an application by associating contentin the execution screen, selected according to the input interaction,with contact information about a tray item at a position where the inputinteraction is moved and located, and then configures an executionscreen according to the operation of the application (1415). Thisprocess will be described in detail referring to FIG. 15.

Meanwhile, when the controller ascertains that the input interactionmoves from a particular tray item in the contact tray 400 to a certainarea in the execution screen at step 1411, it operates an applicationbased on contact information about a tray item selected by the inputinteraction, and configures an execution screen according to theoperation of the application (1417). This process will be described indetail referring to FIG. 16.

FIG. 15 illustrates a flow chart that describes a process 1415 foroperating an application based on contact information of a tray item,shown in the flow chart of FIG. 14.

Referring to FIG. 15, the controller 140 ascertains that the inputinteraction moves from the execution screen to a particular tray item inthe contact tray 400 (1501), and checks an application execution mode(1503). For example, the controller 140 determines whether anapplication is set to be executed according to the interaction input asstep 1501 (1505).

When the controller 140 ascertains that there is an application to beexecuted according to the interaction at step 1505, it executes the setapplication (1507). When executing the application, the controller 140extracts contact information, corresponding to a tray item, and content(or information corresponding to content), and determines a combinationthereof (1509).

After that, the controller 140 configures and displays an executionscreen for the executed application, according to the combination(1511). For example, as described in the sections referring to FIGS. 8to 10, the controller 140 can configure an execution screen in such away to set a recipient section (area) automatically based on contactinformation about a tray item and to set a body section(area—automatically based on content (or information about content).

After configuring the execution screen for the executed application atstep 1511, the controller 140 controls a requested operation (1513). Forexample, the controller 140 can control functions according to theexecution of the application, as the recipient is set based on contactinformation about a tray item and a body is set to include the content(or information about content). Examples of the functions are emailtransmission, message transmission, Facebook registration, Twitterregistration, etc.

However, when the controller 140 ascertains that there is not anapplication to be executed according to the interaction at step 1505,the controller 140 displays executable applications via a pop-up window(1515). For example, as described in the section referring to FIG. 7,the controller 140 displays a number of executable applications via apop-up window 700.

After that, the controller 140 senses an interaction that selects aparticular application presented on the pop-up window (1517). Thecontroller 140 executes the selected application (1519), and thenreturns to step 1509.

FIG. 16 illustrates a flow chart that describes a process 1417 foroperating an application based on contact information of a tray item,shown in the flow chart of FIG. 14.

Referring to FIG. 16, the controller 140 senses the input interactionthat moves from a particular tray item in the contact tray 400 to acertain area in the execution screen (1601). The controller 140determines whether the area where the interaction is located is apermissible area that can receive a contact information-based input(1603).

When the controller 140 ascertains that the area where the interactionis located is an impermissible area that cannot receive a contactinformation-based input at step 1603, the controller 140 displays thetray item via a floating item indicating that contact information cannotbe input, as described in the section referring to FIG. 12, (1605).After that, the controller 140 performs a corresponding operation(1607). For example, as described in the section referring to FIG. 12,when the interaction is moved to a permissible area where contactinformation can be input, the controller 140 switches the floating itemof the tray item to a floating item indicating that contact informationcan be input. After that, the controller 140 proceeds with step 1609 andperforms the following steps thereof.

However, when the controller 140 ascertains that the area where theinteraction is located is a permissible area that can receive a contactinformation-based input at step 1603, the controller 140 extractscontact information corresponding to the tray item (1609). Thecontroller 140 analyzes the type of area to which the interaction isinput (1611). For example, as described in the section referring to FIG.11, the controller 140 can analyzes the type of area to which the trayitem is moved according to the interaction. In another embodiment of theinvention, it can be implemented in such away that step 1609 followsstep 1611 (i.e., step 1611 is processed and then step 1609 is done).

After the controller 140 inputs the extracted contact informationcorresponding to the analyzed type of area the extracted contactinformation is displayed on the display unit, (1613). For example, asdescribed in the section referring to FIG. 11, the controller 140 canconfigure a corresponding area in the execution screen, based on thecontact information corresponding to the tray item.

The controller 140 determines whether another tray item is additionallymoved (1615). When the controller 140 ascertains that another tray itemis moved at step 1615, processing returns to and proceeds with step1603.

However, when the controller 140 ascertains that another tray item isnot moved at step 1615, the controller 140 configures an executionscreen for the executed application and controls a requested operation(1617). For example, the controller 140 performs functions of theapplication on the execution screen that has been configured based onthe contact information about the tray item. Examples of the functionsare email transmission, message transmission, Facebook registration,Twitter registration, etc.

As described above, the touch device controlling method using tray itemsassociated with contact information, according to the invention, can beimplemented with program commands that can be conducted in various typesof computers and recorded in computer-readable recording media. Thecomputer-readable recording media contain program commands, data files,data structures, or the like, or a combination thereof. The programcommands recorded in the recording media may be designed or configuredto comply with the invention or may be software well-known to theordinary skilled person in the art, which when loaded into a computer orprocessor instructs the computer or processor to execute the processingshown herein.

The computer-readable recoding media includes hardware systems forstoring and conducting program commands. Examples of the hardwaresystems are magnetic media such as a hard disk, floppy disk, a magnetictape, optical media such as CD-ROM and DVD, Magneto-Optical Media, suchas an optical disk, ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc. The program commandsinclude assembly language or machine code complied by a compiler and ahigher level language interpreted by an interpreter. The hardwaresystems may be implemented with at least one software module to complywith the invention.

As described above, the touch device and the touch device operatingmethod, according to the invention, can allow for an easy access tofunctions and applications that require contact information, in a touchdevice with a touch-based input interface, via tray items cooperatedwith the contact information. The touch device operating method can beapplied to all types of devices with a touch-based input interface.

In addition, the touch device and the touch device operating method,according to the invention, can support a contact tray containingcontact information-based tray items on all screens executed in thetouch device. The touch device and the touch device operating method canprovide a user interface environment where various applications andfunction, requiring contact information, can be easily and intuitivelyoperated via tray items of a contact tray. Furthermore, the touch deviceand the touch device operating method can execute an application incooperation with contact information to implement an environment wherethe application can be intuitively and effectively operated, therebyenhancing their use, convenience, and competitiveness.

The terms or words described in the present description and the claimsshould not be limited by a general or lexical meaning, instead should beanalyzed as a meaning and a concept through which the inventor definesand describes the invention at his most effort, to comply with the ideaof the invention. Therefore, one skilled in the art will understand thatthe embodiments disclosed in the description and configurationsillustrated in the drawings are only preferred embodiments, insteadthere may be various modifications, alterations, and equivalents thereofto replace the embodiments at the time of filing this application.

Although exemplary embodiments of the invention have been described indetail hereinabove, it should be understood that many variations andmodifications of the basic inventive concept herein described, which maybe apparent to those skilled in the art, will still fall within thespirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

1. A method, operable in a processor, for operating applications of atouch device, comprising: displaying on an execution screen, a contacttray comprised of a number of tray items including contact information;receiving an interaction to use a tray item in the contact tray;configuring an execution screen for an application based on contactinformation of the tray item; and operating the application based on theconfigured execution screen.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereindisplaying a contact tray comprises: receiving an interaction forcalling the contact tray via a tray indicator region in a stateinformation display area; and overlaying and displaying a list ofcontacts on the execution screen, according to the call interaction. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein receiving an interaction comprises:sensing an interaction input to the execution screen or the contacttray; and identifying the type of sensed interaction.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, further comprising: scrolling, when the interaction is input tothe contact tray, a number of tray items in the contact tray, accordingto the interaction.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein scrolling a numberof tray items comprises: fixedly displaying part of the number of trayitems in a fixed region on the contract tray; and scrolling the othertray items in scrolling region on the contact tray.
 6. The method ofclaim 3, further comprising: displaying, when the interaction is inputto the contact tray, contact information about a tray item, selected bythe input interaction, via a pop-up window.
 7. The method of claim 3,wherein configuring an execution screen comprises: receiving aninteraction that selects content in the execution screen and moves it toa tray item in the contact tray; and configuring an execution screen foran application by associating the content, selected by the interaction,with contact information about the tray item where the interaction ismoved and located.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein configuring anexecution screen comprises: determining whether there is an applicationto be executed according to the input interaction; executing, when thereis an application to be executed, the application; determining, when theapplication is executed, a combination of contact informationcorresponding to the tray item with the content; and configuring anexecution screen for the application, according to the combination. 9.The method of claim 8, wherein configuring an execution screencomprises: setting a recipient based on contact informationcorresponding to the tray item; and configuring a body based on thecontent.
 10. The method of claim 8, further comprising: displaying, whenthere is not an application to be executed, executable applications viaa pop-up window.
 11. The method of claim 3, wherein configuring anexecution screen comprises: receiving an interaction that selects a trayitem in the contact tray and moves the selected tray item to theexecution screen; and configuring an execution screen for anapplication, based on contact information corresponding to the selectedtray item.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein configuring an executionscreen comprises: extracting contact information corresponding to thetray item; analyzing a type of area to which the interaction is input;and inputting and displaying the extracted contact information,according to the type of area.
 13. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising: determining whether an area in the execution screen to whichthe interaction is located is a impermissible area where a contactinformation-based input can be input; and displaying a floating itemcorresponding to the tray item via a floating item indicating that thecontact information cannot be input, when the determined area is anon-permissible area.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:displaying, a floating item corresponding to the tray item via afloating item indicating that the contact information can be input, whenthe interaction is moved from the impermissible area to a permissiblearea.
 15. A touch device comprising: a display unit for: displaying anexecution screen for an application and a contact tray comprised ofcontact information-based tray items on the execution screen, andreceiving interactions to use the tray items in the contact tray; and acontroller for: configuring the execution screen for an applicationbased on contact information about the tray item, according to the inputof an interaction, and operating the application based on the configuredexecution screen.
 16. The touch device of claim 15, wherein the contacttray comprises: a first item region containing a tray item associatedwith contact information corresponding to a user of the touch device;and a second item region containing a number tray items associated withcontact information registered by the user.
 17. The touch device ofclaim 16, wherein: the first item region is a fixed region where trayitems cannot be scrolled; and the second item region is a scroll regionwhere tray items can be scrolled according to the interaction.
 18. Thetouch device of claim 16, wherein the contact tray further comprises: athird item region containing items for editing tray items.
 19. The touchdevice of claim 15, wherein the controller: senses an interaction thatselects content in the execution screen and moves it to a tray item inthe contact tray; and configures an execution screen for an applicationby associating the content, selected by the interaction, with contactinformation about the tray item where the interaction is moved andlocated.
 20. The touch device of claim 15, wherein the controller:senses an interaction that selects a tray item in the contact tray andmoves it to the execution screen; and configures an execution screen foran application, based on contact information about the tray itemselected by the interaction.